How Tia Lola Came to (Visit) Stay

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2001

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-10

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Food

Throughout then novel, food serves as a motif for The Importance of Family and Community Support. The Guzmáns’ first experiences of community in Vermont take place at Rudy’s Restaurant: “‘Welcome Wagon Special,’ he calls it, ‘Three meals for the price of one and you guys teach me some Spanish’” (4). As the special’s name illustrates, the meals Rudy gives the Guzmáns are not only sustenance but also a show of support and an invitation into community.

The motif of food increases in prominence with Tía Lola’s arrival. She takes on most of the cooking for the family—one of the key ways that she helps Mami and takes care of the children. At various moments in the novel, Alvarez suggests the possibility that Tía Lola’s cooking has magical properties, adding an element of magical realism to the narrative. In Chapter 4, Tía Lola prepares several Dominican dishes for her great-nephew, such as quipes and empanaditas de queso, and Miguel becomes convinced that the “special magic rations in his lunchbox” give him good luck (53). Miguel and Tía Lola’s conversations about her food lead to one of the novel’s most significant pieces of dialogue: “Everything is magic if made with love” (53). Tía Lola’s claim leaves the question of whether she has supernatural powers open while affirming the importance of family and community support. In evoking tropes of magic realism, Alvarez undergirds her plot with the central message that love is, in itself, a kind of magic.

Food also figures prominently in the novel’s resolution, cementing the thematic connection between sharing a meal and the love of family and community. During his visit to the Dominican Republic, Miguel shares an enormous feast with his relatives: “Every time he finishes, some more arroz and habichuelas and puerco asado and ensalada de aguacates are piled on his plate” (138). The abundance of food Miguel’s Dominican relatives heap on his plate represents the overflowing love and support they wish to share with him. The motif of food brings together the Guzmáns’ family and community, appears during key events, and underscores the author’s central message.

Colors

In Alvarez’s novel, bright colors symbolize joy while white is associated with sadness. One of the most significant examples of color symbolism is the transformation of the Guzmáns’ old farmhouse. When the family moves in, the structure is covered in “flaking white paint” that makes it “look so blah and run-down” (100). The farmhouse’s dreary appearance mirrors Mami and the children’s sadness at the divorce that led them to relocate from New York City to Vermont. In Chapter 7, Tía Lola paints the house a “deep, rich purple” (95), and the dramatic change in the house’s color symbolizes Tía Lola’s efforts to restore joy to her family and new community. While the curmudgeonly Colonel Charlebois initially demands that the Guzmáns repaint the house white, he later dons a “new purple-and-white-striped baseball uniform” sewn by Tía Lola to illustrate that her infectious happiness inspires a lasting transformation in him (115).

At the end of the novel, Alvarez uses color symbolism to paint a vivid picture of the Dominican Republic: “The sea matches the turquoise of the sky, and the houses are painted yellow and turquoise and purple and mint green and pink” (137). These bright hues symbolically establish the island as a place of great joy. In addition, the passage specifically mentions purple, which links the Guzmáns’ violet Vermont home to the colorful houses on the island and underlines their pride in and connection to their Dominican heritage. In depicting her characters in the Dominican Republic, Alvarez helps the reader understand how this setting shapes Tía Lola’s approach to life—bringing joy to others by carrying the island’s vibrancy with her wherever she goes. Alvarez uses color symbolism to develop the novels’ settings, mood, and characters.

Seasons

Winter represents isolation while warmer seasons symbolize belonging. Miguel, Juanita, and Mami move to Vermont during Christmas break, and the cold of winter emphasizes their isolation and loneliness. During this snowbound season, Miguel feels alone because he misses his father in New York City and “hasn’t made one friend in three weeks” (5). As winter thaws into spring, Miguel and his family start forging friendships, aligning with spring’s traditional literary meaning as a time of new beginnings. Chapter 4’s opening lines establish a clear connection between the season and belonging: “Spring has arrived! There is no keeping Tía Lola indoors. She puts on her bright flowered dress and [...] sets out to meet the neighbors” (43). Much like the vegetable garden Tía Lola plants, the community that she fosters in the spring comes to fruition during “the full of summer” (101). Mami’s surprise birthday party on August 30 offers clear proof that the Guzmáns have found a place to belong: “Have they really made so many friends in just eight months? It seems the whole county has gathered together” (116). Alvarez contrasts the vibrant, lively summer with the stark and lonely winter to show how Vermont becomes a home to Miguel and his family.

In Chapter 10, Alvarez uses the seasons to add a layer of symbolism to Miguel’s visit to the Dominican Republic. The boy has spent his whole life in the Northeastern US, so the weather on the island represents a drastic change from what he is accustomed to: “But how can it be Christmas, Miguel thinks, when the day is as sunny and warm as a midsummer day in Vermont?” (135). This disorientation echoes the ways Miguel initially feels out of place in the Dominican Republic. However, he soon develops connections with his extended family, which reinforces the warmer seasons’ meaning of belonging. The seasons bring the story full circle as Alvarez’s narrative takes place over a calendar year, from December to December. By using the seasons as symbols, Alvarez depicts Miguel’s journey from isolation to belonging over the course of one year.